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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. march — music
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. current — happening now
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. straw — dry grass

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com